Hinge means



March 9, 1965 Filed Nov. 5, 1962 M. J. ROBINSON ETAI- HINGE MEANS 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 March 9, 1965 M. J. ROBINSON ETAL 3,172,147

HINGE MEANS 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Nov. 5, 1962 United States Patent O 3,172,147 HINGE MEANS Milton J. Robinson, Lake Forest, Walter A. Schroederus, Highland Park, and Irving B. Engel, Deerfield, Ill., and William Heim and Leo Zyniel, West Allis, Wis., assignors to Milwaukee-Ferrometal-Stamping Sorp., Chicago, Ill., a corporation of Illinois Filed Nov. 5, 1962, Ser. No. 235,280 Claims. (Cl. 16-149) The present invention relates to a hinge.

The invention relates more particularly to a hinge made up of two main parts, one of which is incorporated in a door frame or pilaster and the other of which is supported by the rst part and exposed for pivotally supporting a door.

A broad object of the invention is to provide a hinge of the foregoing character in which the second part is releasably held by the irst part that is mounted in the pilaster, and can be removed therefrom by an authorized person, but which defies removal therefrom by a person not familiar with its construction, without destroying the hinge.

Another object of the invention is to provide a hinge of the foregoing general character which is of simple construction, but is extremely strong and rugged.

' Other objects and advantages of the invention will appear from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a front view of an installation incorporating a plurality of doors hung by hinges of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged View of the portion encircled in dot-dash lines indicated at 2 in FIG. l, but With one element partially broken away;

FIG. 3 is a view taken on staggered line 3--3 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a vertical sectional view of the hinge of the present invention, and a pilaster in which it is mounted and a door supported thereby, oriented according to the views of FIGS. 1 and 2;

FIG. 5 is a view taken at line 5 5 of FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a top view of the hinge as shown in FIG. 4, the door and an element of the pilaster being removed; and

FIG. 7 isa sectional view of the hinge itself, oriented according to FIG. 4 and indicating the manner in which the hinge parts may be released from each other.

Referring now in detail to the drawings, attention is directed rst to FIG. l showing a plurality of doors 10 supported by corresponding pilasters 12, one of which, 12a, may be an end member in an installation. The doors are hung on the pilasters by hinges 14 made according to the present invention and described in detail hereinbelow, while conventional latch means 16 may be utilized K for retaining the doors closed against unauthorized openings. The hinges at the top and bottom of the doors may be the same, or substantially the same, but mounted in the doors in a slightly different manner. In the case of the lower door hinge, a void or recess 18 is provided, which may open through the bottom edge of the door, as well as through the hinge edge. upper hinge, a void or recess 20 is provided which is shown in greater detail in FIGS. 2 and 4. Since the hinges at the top and the bottom of the doors are the same, the following detailed description of only one, namely, the upper hinge, will suffice for both.

In the case of the` 3,172,147 Patented Mar. 9, 1965 "lee As shown best in FIGS. 4 to 7, the hinge, indicated in its entirety at 14, is made up of two main parts, namely, a bracket or bracket member 22 and a mounting member or reinforcement 24. The bracket 22 is preferably of die cast metal, and includes an outer supporting extension 26 having an aperture 28 in which in the present instance is a bearing bushing 30 which receives a pintle or pivot element 32 in the door 10. At anV inner end of the supporting extension 26 is a facing member 34 which may have a curved outer surface. This facing member is of substantial vertical extent, and thereby provides substantial stability to the hinge when mounted in the pilaster. This facing member includes an upper portion 34a and a lower portion 34b, the upper portion having an aperture 36 for receiving a screw 38, the purpose of which will be described hereinbelow. Inwardly, or rearwardly, of the facing member 34, oriented according to the mounting of the hinge in the pilaster, is a mounting portion 40 which may be of suitable size and proportions for providing the desired strength and mounting of the bracket 22, and in its upper surface, adjacent the inner end thereof, is a transverse groove 42 serving as a detent element in conjunction with the mounting member 24. In the supporting extension 26 are vertical grooves 44 in the side surfaces for receiving corresponding runs of an O ring 46 encompassing the supporting extension, this O ring being made of rubber or other suitable resilient material for cushioning the door 10.

The mounting member 24 is preferably made of a sheet metal stamping, being U-shaped as viewed vertically (FIG. 6), including a web 48 and flanges 50 and 52, as well as a turned-under tail portion 54 (FIGS. 4 and 5) which extends from the web 48 in the direction of the extension of the flanges. The flanges 50 and 52 have aligned openings 56 adjacent the lower ends thereof for receiving the mounting portion 40 of the bracket 22, and when the mounting portion is so received in those openings, the tail portion 54 aids in confining it.

The flange Sil of the mounting member is provided with an aperture 58 which, in the assembly of the hinge parts, is aligned with the aperture 36 in the facing member portion 34a. This aperture 58 may be formed by a turned-in portion 60 struck from the flange 50 and having substantial axial extent to provide suiiicient internal threads for threaded engagement by the screw 38 for solidly securing the hinge parts together. Formed in the opposite flange 52 is an aperture or cut-out 62 for receiving the free end portion 63 of a flexible leaf spring 64, the opposite and upper end portion of which is secured as by means of a rivet 66 to the flange 50. The leaf spring thus extends downwardly and outwardly, with its free end yieldingly and releasably received in the groove 42 in the supporting portion 40 of the hinge bracket. Upon insertron of the mounting portion 40 through the aligned openings 56 in the mounting member, the innerend of the supporting portion upon engaging the lower end of the leaf spring 64 flexes the spring inwardly (to the left- FIG. 4) and the latter rides over the leading edge of the groovev42 and then falls into the groove. Upon force being applied in the opposite direction to withdraw the bracket, i.e., to the right as viewed in FIG. 4, it is prevented from withdrawal by the engagement of the lower end of the leaf spring in the groove, but the leaf spring may be manually flexed to release the hinge bracket, as explained hereinbelow.

The construction of the pilaster 12 in itself may be conventional, but certain elements thereof asvrelate to 3 the mounting of the hinge are herein described. The pilaster 12 includes side elements 68 and 70 (FIG. 6) which may originally be separate elements, but secured together as by welding in the formation of the pilaster. In the construction of the pilaster, and while the elements 68 and 70 are separate, the mounting member 24 is placed in the desired position and secured therein as by welding the web portion 48 to the corresponding side sheet element 68 as indicated at 72 in FIGS. 4,'6 and 7. In such position the flange 50 is butted against the edge wall element, here indicatedy at 7 4, and which may be an extension of either of the -side elements 68 or 70. This edge element 74 is provided with an aperture 76 for receiving the just described, the bracket 22 is mounted by inserting the mounting portion 4t) through an aperture 78 suitably formed in the wall element 74 and through the opening 56 in the mounting member. In such manipulation, the leaf spring 64 engages in the groove 42, as above described, and the bracket 22 is secured in place. However, in order to render the hinge construction more solid, and impart greater stability to the supporting portion 26, the screw 38 is put in place and threaded through the threaded aperture 58, thus bringing the facing member 34 tight against the outer surface of the wall element 74. The pilaster is provided with a suitable facing molding Si) which may be of conventional character, such as one having tongue and groove connection with other elements of the wall, and secured in place in a suitable manner yas by welding. The facing molding 80 is cut out as indicated at 82 to provide the desired opening for receiving the hinge bracket.

The door 10, in this specific construction, is also conventional, i.e., ity includes a portion 84 corresponding to the elements 68, 70 and 74 of the pilaster, namely, it includes elements defining the various surfaces of the door, and 'a molding strip 86, similar to the molding strip 80, the former provided with a void or gap indicated at 88 in register with the recess referred to above.

Mounted in the recess 20 is a member 90 which may be made of a sheet metal stamping and includes a central main portion 92 defining the surfaces of the recess 20 and ange portions 94 which are secured to the wall elements 84 of the door in a customary manner, such as by welding, as indicated at 95. The upper and lower elements of the main portion 92 are provided with aligned apertures 96 for receiving the pintle 32. The provision of the pintle 32 and the construction of the door relating thereto, as well as the mounting of the door'on the hinge, are in themselves conventional. Preferably the recess 20 is provided with a shell 100, closed circumferentially therearound, and thereby providing solid appearing side surfaces of the hinge substantially flush with the side surfaces of thedoor, when the door is closed. This shell does remain substantially stationary, while the door swings to open position.

Removal of doors by ruians in installations in which the hinge of the present invention is particularly adapted, for example, in public places, has long been a serious diiculty. This is true also with respect to appurtenances of the door, such as the hinges. However, in the present case it is nearly impossible for an uninitiated or unauthorized person to remove the hinge bracket 22 short of destruction of the pilaster, orV destruction of the hinge. Doors themselves of this general type can usually be easilyremoved, as by removing the pintle 32 and lifting the door out, but an unauthorized person would not know of the detent 64-62, and his attempt to remove the hinge would be thwarted, even after removal of the screw v38,

which would appear an obvious thing to do. However, an authorized person can remove the bracket 22 in a manner indicated in FIG. 7, namely, `remove the screw 38 and insert an instrument such as a nail 102 through the aligned apertures in which the screw was placed, and into engagement with the exposed lower end portion of the leaf spring 64. Further movement of the nail inwardly moves the lower end of the leaf spring out of the groove 42, as indicated in FIG. 7, whereupon the bracket on initial movement outwardly brings the groove 42 outwardly beyond the leaf spring and thereby enables complete removal of the bracket by merely pulling outwardly on it.

While we have shown and claimed herein a rtain preferred embodiment of the invention, it will be understood that changes may be made therein within the scope of the appended claims.

We claim:

l. Hinge means adapted for mounting in a wall member having an edge surface disposed for cooration with a corresponding hinge edge surface of a door mounted on such wall member, said wall member having a generally enclosed internal space covered at least partially by a structural wall element defining said edge surface, said hinge means comprising a mounting member secured in said space and having a side member butting the inner side of said structural Wall element, said side member having a threaded aperture therein and said structural wall element having an aperture aligned with said threaded aperture, said mounting member and structural wall element having aligned openings therein, a bracket having a mounting extension, a supporting extension extending oppositely therefrom and a facing member transverse to said extensions, said bracket being mounted to the wall member with its said mounting extension received in said openings and its said facing member butted to said wall edge surface, and with said supporting extension projecting outwardly from said wall edge surface in position for pivotally supporting a door, said facing member having an aperture aligned with said first mentioned two apertures, screw means in said aligned apertures and threaded in said threaded aperture securing said bracket rigidly in mounted position, and detent means including a movable detent element on one of the mounting members and bracket and a recess in the other and operative for ymoving into normal and releasable interengagement in response to placing said bracket in its said mounted position, the point of said interengagement being near alignment with said aligned apertures and disposed inwardly and relatively remote from those apertures, said detent means being adapted to be released in response to insertion of an elongated tool through said aligned apertures when said screw is removed therefrom and forcing the tool against the detent means.

2. The invention set out in claim 1 wherein said detent means includes a leaf spring mounted on said mounting member and a recess in said mounting extension of said bracket, the leaf spring is normally biased in direction for engaging in said recess in response to movement of the bracket into its said mounted position.

3. The invention set out in claim 2 wherein the opening in said mounting member and wall element are adjacent the lower portion thereof and below said aligned apertures, said leaf spring is secured at its upper end to said mounting member and has an intermediate portion inclined downwardly and inwardly away from said aligned apertures, and has aterminal portion extending generally perpendicular to said mounting portion of the bracket, and said inclined portion is in substantial alignment with said aligned apertures whereby upon insertion of said elongated tool and forcing it against said leaf spring, it engages said inclined portion and cams the free end portion of the spring out of engagement with the recess in said bracket.

4. The invention set out in claim 1 in which said mounting member includes a metal stamping of U-shaped in plan view, and has a first flange butted to the inside surface of said wall element and an inner flange spaced inwardly from the first flange, and said mounting member also has a turned-under tail portion spaced downwardly from said flanges, and said tail portion and the lower edges of said anges define said opening in the mounting member in which the mounting portion of said bracket is received, and the lower edge of Said inner lange is engaged by the inner end of said mounting port-ion and serves to thereby stabilize said bracket.

5. The hinge means set out in claim 1 in conjunction with said wall member.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS Stashko 24-108 Appleby 16-149 X Geschickter 16-149 Grace 292-86 X Luneke 292-86 X Piker 292-86 10 DONLEY I. STOCKING, Primary Examiner. 

1. HINGE MEANS ADAPTED FOR MOUNTING IN A WALL MEMBER HAVING AN EDGE SURFACE DISPOSED FOR COOPERATING WITH A CORRESPONDING HINGE EDGE SURFACE OF A DOOR MOUNTED ON SUCH WALL MEMBER, SAID WALL MEMBER HAVING A GENERALLY ENCLOSED INTERNAL SPACED COVERED AT LEAST PARTIALLY BY A STRUCTURAL WALL ELEMENT DEFINING SAID EDGE SURFACE, SAID HINGE MEANS COMPRISING A MOUNTING MEMBER SECURED IN SAID SPACE AND HAVING A SIDE MEMBER BUTTING THE INNER SIDE OF SAID STRUCTURAL WALL ELEMENT, SAID SIDE MEMBER HAVING A THREADED APERTURE THEREIN AND SAID STRUCTURAL WALL ELEMENT HAVING AN APERTURE ALIGNED WITH SAID THREADED APERTURE, SAID MOUNTING MEMBER AND STRUCTURAL WALL ELEMENT HAVING ALIGNED OPENINGS THEREIN, A BRACKET HAVING A MOUNTING EXTENSION, A SUPPORTING EXTENSION EXTENDING OPPOSITELY THEREFROM AND A FACING MEMBER TRANSVERSE TO SAID EXTENSIONS, SAID BRACKET BEING MOUNTED TO THE WALL MEMBER WITH ITS SAID MOUNTING EXTENSION RECEIVED IN SAID OPENINGS AND ITS SAID FACING MEMBER BUTTED TO SAID WALL EDGE SURFACE, AND WITH SAID SUPPORTING EXTENSION PROJECTING OUTWARDLY FROM SAID WALL EDGE SURFACE IN POSITION FOR PIVOTALLY SUPPORTING A DOOR, SAID FACING MEMBER HAVING AN APERTURE ALIGNED WITH SAID FIRST MENTIONED TWO APERTURES, SCREW MEANS IN SAID ALIGNED APERTURES AND THREADED IN SAID THREADED APERTURE SECURING SAID BRACKET RIGIDLY IN MOUNTED POSITION, AND DETENT MEANS INCLUDING A MOVABLE DETENT ELEMENT ON ONE OF THE MOUNTING MEMBERS AND BRACKET AND A RECESS IN THE OTHER AND OPERATIVE FOR MOVING INTO NORMAL AND RELEASABLE INTERENGAGEMENT IN RESPONSE TO PLAING SAID BRACKET IN ITS SAID MOUNTED POSITION, THE POINT OF SAID INTERENGAGEMENT BEING NEAR ALIGNMENT WITH SAID ALIGNED APERTURES AND DISPOSED INWARDLY AND RELATIVELY REMOTE FROM THOSE APERTURES, SAID DETENT MEANS BEING ADAPTED TO BE RELEASED IN RESPONSE TO INSERTION OF AN ELONGATED TOOL THROUGH SAID ALIGNED APERTURES WHEN SAID SCREW IS REMOVED THEREFROM AND FORCING THE TOOL AGAIST THE DETENT MEANS. 